The Gallant Pioneers: Rangers 1872

by Ralston, Gary

  The official cause of McNeil’s death on Saturday 30 March 1901 was given as ‘general paralysis’, as the certifying doctor, typical of the time, spared his family from the heartache of having their husband and father publicly cast as mentally ill. His two-line death notice, which appeared in the Evening Times and Glasgow Herald, made reference only to his name, address and cause of passing as ‘a lingering illness’.8 In the same week, smallpox outbreaks were reported in the press, along with regular bulletins on the ailing health of the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, and the news that a new railway had opened, taking passengers along one of the most scenic routes in the world, from Fort William to Mallaig. In football, a preview of the Partick Thistle AGM showed that the Firhill club had spent £360 on player transfers the year before.

  The decline in the quality of life of the McNeil family could no longer be hidden from the wider world. By May 1897 they had downsized through necessity, from Bentinck Street to a four-apartment flat at No. 32 Gibson Street in Hillhead (‘three up, first door, name on door’)9 and Peter began to display the signs of the mental distress that would kill him within four years. In his health records of January 1901 from Hawkhead, which was renamed Leverndale in 1964, it states he had suffered ‘growing (mental) paralysis for three years.’ By the time he was sectioned he had been insane for six months and although he was not listed as suicidal or epileptic, he was considered dangerous.10

  He weighed only eight stones 13 pounds, stood five feet four and a half inches tall and had grey hair, brown eyes and a pale complexion. He was listed as being in fair nutritional state and his first check-up at the asylum disclosed ‘a large scar on the front of the left leg.’ An old reminder of the rough and tumble from his playing career with Rangers, perhaps? McNeil was admitted to the Hawkhead Asylum only after being granted Poor Law Relief by the Govan Parish, of which Hillhead was a part in the early 20th century. He was described as ‘wholly’ disabled as a result of ‘insanity’ and his wife was struggling so badly to pay the rent of £25 a year she had resorted to keeping lodgers. Fraser, 14 by this time, had already been put to work as a clerk earning five shillings a week, while Gertrude was approaching her 11th birthday and still at school. The family was described as having ‘no means, no society’ and, unsurprisingly, their application for relief was approved.

  On arrival at Hawkhead, it was recorded that none of McNeil’s relatives were known to be insane and the reason for his admittance, as stated earlier, was ‘paralysis induced by financial worries.’ The records states his ‘speech was thick and hesitant and incoherent. Tongue tremulous, gait uncertain and pupils pin-point.’ Furthermore, it noted: ‘Wife says he is very irritable and at times excited. He has no idea of where he is or what time of year it is.’ The records added: ‘On admission, patient was somewhat excited and resisted when his clothes were being removed, but he soon became quiet and went to bed without further trouble. Patient has a difficulty in his speech. His words are pronounced in a thick and hesitating manner.’

  The following day, 22 January, McNeil seemed to have calmed and adapted to his new situation. The records noted: ‘Patient…submits readily to examination. His pupils are contracted and there is a suspicion of cardiac disease.’ The next entry from doctors, on 6 February, reads: ‘Patient is up every day. He is very happy and contented and thinks that he is staying in Dunbartonshire. He takes his food well and sleeps well.’ On 12 February: ‘Patient now recognises that he is staying in a hospital. He is able to be up every day. He takes his food well and sleeps well. Patient appears to be very contented and happy.’ A fortnight later, on 26 February: ‘Patient remains in much the same condition. He answers questions readily but does not know very well where he is or what he is talking [about]. He is happy and contented and eats and sleeps well.’ The following week, 4 March: ‘Patient continues in the same happy and contented condition.’ However, within four weeks McNeil’s condition had changed dramatically as his life drew to a close. On 30 March his records stated bluntly: ‘Patient became much worse since last night and gradually sank, dying at 6.20pm today. No PM (post mortem) allowed.’

  Janet Fraser McNeil married again two years later to potato merchant James Fulton. She died on 18 April 1932, her age listed as 74, at a Glasgow nursing home, having outlived both her husbands. Gertrude Grace married in 1925 to a William Stewart Chapman at Pollokshields, who worked as a trader in East India. Until recently, little was known of the life of Peter’s son, John Fraser McNeil.

  Four days after his death, on Wednesday 3 April 1901, Peter was laid to rest at Craigton Cemetery, where he was buried in the family plot with his parents John and Jane McNeil. The plot, in the name of James N.B. (Neil Brodie) McNeil, the second-oldest McNeil brother, was opened for the last time on 19 August 1908 when brother William, who gave sterling service as a Rangers player until 1878, was buried following his death aged 53. In plot I502, again unmarked, lie the bodies of James Neil Brodie McNeil, listed as aged 64 when he died in November 1909, his first wife Lucy Ann McNeil, aged 42 when she passed away in March 1895 (James remarried, to a Jane McAllister MacHaffie, in April 1899) and also a Brodie McNeil, most likely the son of James and Lucy Ann, who died aged 32 in May 1914. In plot I500, marked with a handsome headstone, lies Alexander McNeil, the third oldest brother of Peter and Moses, who died in 1914 aged 66, and three of his family members.

  The records of Craigton Cemetery show the cost of Peter McNeil’s Class C burial was 12 shillings and sixpence. Extensive as the records are, they do not state how the bill was settled. Peter’s death went virtually unnoticed in the press, although the Scottish Referee conceded: ‘Mr McNeil has long been ailing and his death, even in life’s primal age of the forties, was not unexpected.’11

  Sweet Charity

  If charity begins at home then good causes in and around Glasgow never had to stray far for support in the early years of Scottish football. The game echoed the benevolent paternalism of Victorian society at large and Rangers were never found wanting, with their generosity of time and spirit to boost fundraising efforts for a whole range of groups. They asked for nothing in return, but received thanks of a kind in 1879 in the shape of the fledgling club’s first piece of silverware – the Glasgow Merchants’ Charity Cup, which made some amends for the loss of the Scottish Cup Final that same year following another controversial Final against Vale of Leven.

  In 2008, the Rangers Charity Foundation broke through the £1 million barrier in terms of financial support and assistance given to a range of grateful groups over the previous five years, but the Light Blues have been willing contributors to a host of good causes from their very earliest days. Their first game against Queen’s Park, played in November 1875, raised £28 for the Bridgeton Fire Fund. They played on a public park on Rothesay in August 1879, once more against Queen’s Park, in support of local good causes, then followed it up early the following year with another benefit game aimed at swelling the coffers of a group of players who hoped to represent Scotland on a tour of Canada. They moved swiftly to set up a benefit game against Scottish Cup holders Dumbarton in July 1883 when the Daphne went down following its launch at Alexander Stephen’s Linthouse shipyard on the Clyde with the loss of 124 lives. They regularly played fundraisers at Kinning Park to boost the coffers of the local unemployed in days long before the safety net of social security was available to protect the most vulnerable. One such match, against a Glasgow select side known as the Crusaders, raised £18 in 1886. Those who have carelessly linked Rangers to uber-Protestantism since its formation in 1872 may be surprised to learn that the club fought out a 2–2 draw against Hibs at Easter Road in May 1903, in a game played to raise funds for the Leith Roman Catholic School Building Fund. The Star of the Sea RC School was built in the grounds of the Stella Maris Church in Constitution Street in Leith as a result.

  The Glasgow Merchants’ Charity Cup, which survived as a competition until 1961, raised over £10,000 between 1877 and 1890 for various good causes and its formati
on came as a result of the interminable squabbles that characterised the early years of the sport, this time between Queen’s Park and Vale of Leven. The Glasgow giants had taught the men from Alexandria how to play the new game in 1872 and initially relations between the clubs were good, but things soured when the SFA, under influence from Queen’s Park, refused to give Vale of Leven permission to compete in the first two Scottish Cup tournaments. Cancellation of subsequent fixtures between the clubs led to a claim from Vale of Leven that the trailblazers of the Scottish game were running scared. They seemed to have a point, as Vale of Leven handed Queen’s Park their first defeat by a Scottish side, 2–1 in the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup, in season 1876–77. The victory, in turn, led to those contentious allegations from the Hampden club that the Vale of Leven players had used forbidden spikes on the soles of their boots. Glasgow merchants put up the new trophy in the hope it would heal the gaping wounds between the clubs, but Vale of Leven refused to enter the competition in its first year. Rangers did play, however, as defeated Scottish Cup finalists, but were dismissed 4–0 at Hampden by Queen’s Park. They fared little better the following year when they were knocked out by Third Lanark in the early stages, 2–1 at Hampden. However, season 1877–78 was memorable in many other ways. It was during this campaign that Rangers played their first game in Edinburgh, against Brunswick (a 2–1 win), in England, against Nottingham Forest (a 4–2 victory), and also secured their record victory twice (13–0 against Possilpark and repeated against Uddingston, with both games in the Scottish Cup).

  Nevertheless, the charitable work on the football field paled into insignificance in comparison to the fundraising efforts that had been undertaken off it in Glasgow as Rangers set off on a season that would yield their first success after seven years in existence. In October 1878 the failure of the City of Glasgow bank was considered to be the greatest disaster ever to hit the business community in Britain and would find echoes in the credit crunch of the modern era. At its annual general meeting in June 1878 the bank, a haven for small investors, revealed that the number of branches had risen to 133 and deposits stood at £8 million. All appeared well, and although rumours of its instability had been expressed as early as 1857, there was still genuine shock and dismay when the directors announced they were closing its doors.

  The business community of the city was paralysed and many merchants faced ruin as auditors estimated the bank’s losses to total £6.2 million. One business after another went to the wall, while the 1,200 shareholders had a call made on them by liquidators of £500 for every £100 of stock owned in a bid to raise £5 million. Civil unrest was predicted, but Lord Provost William Collins raised a fund of £400,000, primarily from big-hearted Glaswegians and, astonishingly, within two years creditors were paid 18 shillings in the pound. The directors of the bank did not escape punishment and were sent for trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in January 1879. It was revealed that large unsecured loans had been made to insolvent companies with which some of the directors were involved. Two directors were imprisoned for 18 months and others were sent to jail for eight months with the public, unsurprisingly, unsympathetic to their plight.

  The debate on the financial uncertainty of the city that dominated the front pages was vigorous, and if worried investors hoped they would escape controversy in their leisure time by following their favourites from Kinning Park they would be sadly mistaken. For the second time in three years Rangers made the Scottish Cup Final, conceding only three goals in six games on the way to a rematch with Vale of Leven. The Alexandria club had won the Cup for the first time in 1877 and also knocked Rangers out of the tournament in the fourth round in 1878 with a comfortable 5–0 replay win in Dunbartonshire following a goalless draw at Kinning Park. They subsequently went on to win the trophy for the second season in a row with a 1–0 victory over Third Lanark. However, Rangers fancied their chances this time, not least because Queen’s Park had been conquered by the Kinning Park squad for the first time in the semi-final. Previously, the Spiders had won all four Cup ties against the Light Blues and had not conceded a goal in the process, but that all changed at Hampden in March 1879. Rangers forward William Dunlop had placed a sovereign (then worth the considerable sum of 21 shillings) on Queen’s to win the trophy that season. However, when the ball landed at his feet in the last minute, and with the goal gaping, he paused only to poetically reflect: ‘There goes my sov,’ as he rammed the winner between the posts.

  Another record crowd was attracted to Hampden on Saturday 19 April 1879 to see Rangers play Vale of Leven. Included in the throng, one newspaper was delighted to note, were ‘a number of ladies.’1 Not all fans were happy, however, and in a letter to the North British Daily Mail on the Tuesday after the Cup Final a reader by the name JMW championed the advent of all-seater stadia over a century before the Hillsborough disaster was a catalyst for such a move. JMW wrote: ‘I think it is anything but fair that the public should be asked to pay such a sum as a shilling each to be allowed to roll on each other as we are compelled to do, if at all inclined to see the game as it goes on. It is not to be wondered that thousands of the people prefer to stand outside rather than be crushed as we were on Saturday last, not to say one word of the inconvenience to the traffic and annoyance to the people of the district. I am sure it cannot be for the want of funds that better accommodation is not provided as three or four hundred pounds, I think, would go a long way in providing seats all round, which would add not only to the comfort to the sightseers but profit to the coffers of the club.’2

  Rangers had six survivors from the side that had lost over the epic three games only two years earlier – Tom Vallance, Moses McNeil, William Dunlop, Peter Campbell, David Hill and George Gillespie, although the latter had switched position from back to goalkeeper in the interim period, while Vale of Leven contained five of the team that took part in the Final in 1877. The 1879 line ups were: Rangers – Gillespie, goal; T. Vallance (captain) and A. Vallance, backs; H. McIntyre and J. Drinnan, half-backs; W. Dunlop, D. Hill, W. Struthers, A. Steel, M. McNeil, P. Campbell, forwards. Vale of Leven – R. Parlane, goal; A. McLintock and A. McIntyre, backs; J. McIntyre and J. McPherson, half-backs; J. Ferguson, J. McFarlane, P. McGregor, J. Baird, J.C. Baird, J. McDougall (captain), forwards.

  The match kicked off at 3.30pm and as Rangers had the better of the early exchanges it came as no surprise when William Struthers opened the scoring with a shot from close range after only 12 minutes. However, then came the moment on which subsequent events centred. Peter Campbell and Moses McNeil worked the ball down the wing and when it was sent into the middle an exchange of headers resulted in Struthers knocking another effort between the Vale posts. Vale appealed against the goal for offside and the referee R.B. Colquhoun from the Havelock club disallowed the effort. According to one report it was ‘a decision which, as might be expected from the strong partisanship displayed by the crowd, evoked a storm of hisses and counter-cheering.’3 Vale immediately pressed for the equaliser, but Rangers maintained their lead to half-time and looked as if they would hold out as the clock ticked down on the second-half action, despite pressure from the Cup holders. Vale fans had all but given up hope of three-in-a-row when, with only two minutes remaining, a shot from Ferguson squirmed inside the post, with Gillespie mistakenly believing the ball was heading past.

  The crowd had no sooner dispersed from Hampden anticipating a replay than Rangers announced they were appealing the result on the basis that the second ‘goal’ from Struthers should have stood. They were given short shrift at an SFA committee meeting on the Monday evening. Astonishingly, Colquhoun chaired the discussion in his position as vice-president of the SFA, which ruled an appeal could not be heard. He argued that Rangers’ claim was being made against a decision of the referee, whose word was final, so the argument was invalid. Rangers were ordered to play the replay at Hampden the following Saturday.

  Rangers dug in their heels and 24 hours before the replay was due to go ahead at Ha
mpden the Glasgow News announced the game would not be played as the Kinning Park club were refusing to take to the field until their appeal had been heard. It further revealed that Rangers were happy to play a replay if the decision of the appeal went against them. Queen’s Park, fearing lost revenue, quickly arranged a game at Hampden against Glasgow University. Vale of Leven duly arrived at the ground in time for kick-off the next day, along with the referee and his two umpires but, as expected, Rangers were nowhere to be seen. Vale pulled on their kit and remained on the pitch for several minutes before the officials declared them Cup winners by default, a decision ratified by the SFA at a committee meeting the following Monday. Meanwhile, a telegram was sent to Alexandria informing the eager public of the news. There was general feeling of satisfaction, mingled with disappointment.

  Rangers officials were persistent, and in the week after the replay that never was Tom Vallance, in his position as club captain, and former goalkeeper James Watt, the ex-president who was by then honorary treasurer, demanded to address the AGM of the SFA at the Trades’ Hall Saloon in Glasgow on Tuesday 30 April. Some of the exchanges were pointed and personal, but Vallance and Watt clearly had their supporters from other clubs in the assembled throng as Colquhoun was forced to defend himself against one of the earliest recorded allegations of match-fixing4:

  Vallance: Why, in face of precedents, was the Rangers protest not opened for discussion at the last committee meeting? Last year, Vale of Leven lodged a dispute following our Cup tie with them and it was heard, even though it related to nothing but a question of the play. (Shouts of ‘hear hear’.)

  Colquhoun: Stick to the facts.

  Vallance: If the Vale of Leven’s protest was given consideration, so ought to have the one from Rangers. (Applause.) We are entitled to have our case heard.